(Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Biography) The National Book Award–winning author of The House of Morgan, Alexander Hamilton, and Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., Ron Chernow here presents a brilliant, richly nuanced portrait of the father of our nation. The crisply paced narrative carries the reader through George Washington's troubled boyhood, his precocious feats in the French and Indian War, his creation of Mount Vernon, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention, and his magnificent performance as America's first president. Chernow dashes forever the stereotype of a stolid, unemotional man, bringing to life a dashing, passionate man of fiery opinions and many moods. Probing Washington's private life, he explores his fraught relationship with his crusty mother, his youthful infatuation with the married Sally Fairfax, and his often conflicted feelings toward his adopted children and grandchildren. Chernow also provides a lavishly detailed portrait of his marriage to Martha and his complex behavior as a slave master.